No doubt it’s going to be a bumpy ride to start the season for the revamped Texas A&M basketball team. Even though the game wasn’t televised, several Aggie fans and media members got their first look at “Bucky Ball.”
On Sunday evening, A&M traveled to Rosenberg, Texas, to face Arizona State at the Fort Bend Epicenter in The Preview College Basketball Exhibition. With Mackenzie Mgbako and Pop Isaacs both sitting out, the starting lineup featured the following:
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It was a tale of two halves. Texas A&M struggled to score efficiently early on, though they looked sharp defensively, forcing nine turnovers. However, they also committed 11 turnovers and shot poorly from the free-throw line, converting just 13-of-22 attempts.
Things improved significantly in the second half, as the Aggies shot 56.7% from the field, 53.3% from three-point range, and 81.3% from the charity stripe. The leading scorers were Zach Clemence (20 points) and Rylan Griffen (16 points), who combined to go 9-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Based on the reports we received, it seems that once the A&M integrates two of their top scorers into the rotation and builds some chemistry, they’ll be a team capable of giving opponents headaches in the latter half of the season. While not an all-star roster, it’s deep and experienced—qualities that could lead to some surprising wins.
You can see the full game stats here.
Texas A&M will open the season by hosting Northwestern State at Reed Arena on November 3 at 7 p.m. The game will be available on SEC Network+.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M tops Arizona State in exhibition basketball debut
